Wood throws off mound again

[Bull]

25 pitches on Monday

 

all went well

 

cubs.com

[PrimeTime]

Few more side sessions for him and 1 more for the rest then they face live hitters! :D damn im so excited for this year

[CuseCubFan69]

I honestly thought the post said "Wood falls off mound again".

 

I'd love to see Kerry do well.

[Coach C]

I honestly thought the post said "Wood falls off mound again".

 

I'd love to see Kerry do well.

 

:lol:

 

Ditto on loving to see him do very well.

[Guest]

I honestly thought the post said "Wood falls off mound again".

 

I'd love to see Kerry do well.

 

:lol:

 

Ditto on loving to see him do very well.

 

Over/under on when KW replaces Dempster as closer?

 

I'd say May 1st.

[soccer10k]

I honestly thought the post said "Wood falls off mound again".

 

I'd love to see Kerry do well.

 

:lol:

 

Ditto on loving to see him do very well.

 

Over/under on when KW replaces Dempster as closer?

 

I'd say May 1st.

 

Will that be before or after his first DL stint of the year?

[Guest]

I honestly thought the post said "Wood falls off mound again".

 

I'd love to see Kerry do well.

 

:lol:

 

Ditto on loving to see him do very well.

 

Over/under on when KW replaces Dempster as closer?

 

I'd say May 1st.

 

Will that be before or after his first DL stint of the year?

 

If he is on the DL, it will be due to milnutrition. Aka: The Juan Cruzitis.

[David]

The more I've thought about it, the more I realized that I hope the Cubs never do take the closer job from Dempster. Not because they should stay loyal to him or because he has proven he is capable of closing out a game or any of that blah blah blah mess, though.

 

I'd rather have our best reliever, which Wood should be, coming into the game in high pressure situations when the game is on the line (i.e. coming in in the 7th or 8th for a struggling pitcher w/RISP) than in save situations where the pitcher is set up for success, always with a lead and almost always with a fresh start to the 9th inning.

[wade]

The more I've thought about it, the more I realized that I hope the Cubs never do take the closer job from Dempster. Not because they should stay loyal to him or because he has proven he is capable of closing out a game or any of that blah blah blah mess, though.

 

I'd rather have our best reliever, which Wood should be, coming into the game in high pressure situations when the game is on the line (i.e. coming in in the 7th or 8th for a struggling pitcher w/RISP) than in save situations where the pitcher is set up for success, always with a lead and almost always with a fresh start to the 9th inning.

 

I follow the Tigers as well as the Cubs and your scenario often played out with Joel Zumaya coming into a dicey situation and leaving the closer Todd Jones for the ninth with no one on. Zumaya is a far better pitcher than Jones and many think there will be a switch before the year is over in Detroit, but as you've layed it out above it can be advantageous to have those "setup" guys as good or better than your "closer" guy.

[soapy]

The more I've thought about it, the more I realized that I hope the Cubs never do take the closer job from Dempster. Not because they should stay loyal to him or because he has proven he is capable of closing out a game or any of that blah blah blah mess, though.

 

I'd rather have our best reliever, which Wood should be, coming into the game in high pressure situations when the game is on the line (i.e. coming in in the 7th or 8th for a struggling pitcher w/RISP) than in save situations where the pitcher is set up for success, always with a lead and almost always with a fresh start to the 9th inning.

 

Agreed on your second paragraph. That's why the role of "closer" is so over rated, IMO. If some one is your best closer, bring him in at the most important point of the game, which isn't necessarily going to be the 9th inning.

[Backtobanks]

Only diehard Cub fans could understand the importance of this thread by the title. Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound. The foreigner would probably think that future posts would include "Murton catches flyball" and "DLee hits a fair ball in batting practice".

[wvcbxl]

Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound.

 

I sincerely hope you don't have a problem with the presence of foreigners on NSBB. :wink: :lol: :lol:

[Soul]

In other news, crews were seen installing special 'no-slip' surfaces in Wood's home.

 

Take that, goat!!

[Balsa]

The more I've thought about it, the more I realized that I hope the Cubs never do take the closer job from Dempster. Not because they should stay loyal to him or because he has proven he is capable of closing out a game or any of that blah blah blah mess, though.

 

I'd rather have our best reliever, which Wood should be, coming into the game in high pressure situations when the game is on the line (i.e. coming in in the 7th or 8th for a struggling pitcher w/RISP) than in save situations where the pitcher is set up for success, always with a lead and almost always with a fresh start to the 9th inning.

My thoughts exactly.

[BCVM22]

I agree completely with the concept of Wood as this team's relief ace, but can anyone tell me that just once, they don't want to see Wood come out of the pen in the 9th and start mowing guys down for the save in a tight game? Just once?

[DesMoinesCub]

I would love to see Woody come into a tight ball game in the 9th. I think a lot will depend on how much he has pitched say the night before, or how much rest he needs. I don't have a problem (and I doubt many would) if both Wood and Dempster finished the year with say 20-25 saves each. I don't know if Lou thinks that way, but ...

 

As for Wood coming into a game in a tight spot, the only fear I would have, and this is coming from memory, so I might be way off, is his control. Say, Woody comes into a game with 0 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd up by a run. A walk moves the go ahead runner up to 2nd, but does give us a force out at home. I guess what I am trying to say, is a lot of times (going from memory) walks killed Kerry. How would this effect him coming into a tight spot in a game?

[A New Era]

Kerry being a bullpen guy is different than Kerry the starter. Just go by 2005. Throw out all of his "bad first innings" or walks. As a bullpen guy he can go all out for 1 inning instead of "saving" his stuff as he might have done as a starter.

 

Bottom line. Kerry is gonna be good in the BP.

[Sammy Sofa]

I have nothing to add except...

 

KERRY WOOD: SUPER CLOSER.

 

Thank you.

[CuseCubFan69]

Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound.

 

I sincerely hope you don't have a problem with the presence of foreigners on NSBB. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

Maybe it's because you're as cold as ice and willing to sacrifice?

[nilodnayr]

Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound.

 

I sincerely hope you don't have a problem with the presence of foreigners on NSBB. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

Maybe it's because you're as cold as ice and willing to sacrifice?

 

And you know how we feel about giving away outs around here... :D

[CuseCubFan69]

Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound.

 

I sincerely hope you don't have a problem with the presence of foreigners on NSBB. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

Maybe it's because you're as cold as ice and willing to sacrifice?

 

And you know how we feel about giving away outs around here... :D

 

Touche my good man!

[NCCubFan]

Can you imagine some foreigner wondering why we get excited about a pitcher throwing off of a mound.

 

I sincerely hope you don't have a problem with the presence of foreigners on NSBB. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

Maybe it's because you're as cold as ice and willing to sacrifice?

Youre as cold as ice, youre willing to sacrifice our love

You never take advice, someday youll pay the price, I know

 

Ive seen it before, it happens all the time

Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind

Youre digging for gold, youre throwing away

A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay

 

Youre as cold as ice, youre willing to sacrifice our love

You want paradise, but someday youll pay the price, I know

 

Ive seen it before, it happens all the time

Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind

Youre digging for gold, youre throwing away

A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay

 

(solo)

 

Cold as ice - you know that you are

Cold as ice - as cold as ice to me

Cold as ice

 

Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, yes I know

Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know

Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know

Youre as cold as ice... (to fade)

[wvcbxl]

Up to the resident foreigner to bring the topic back to baseball. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

From Cubs.com:

 

Kerry Wood, now in the mix with the relievers, also was expected to be ready when Cactus League play begins, but probably won't get in a game until after the first two contests. Wood will throw batting practice Saturday, Rothschild said.

 

So far, so good.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Wood didn't throw BP as scheduled yesterday because of bad weather.

[cubweiser03]

Wood throws 25 live rounds to hitters today.

 

From Cubs.com.....

 

"If I were Kerry Wood, I'd be very pleased with the way I threw," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "He looked nice and comfortable out there. He threw the ball nice and easy. [For the] first time out on the mound, [it was] very encouraging."

 

Not only was Piniella impressed, but so were the hitters who faced him. Just ask infielder Casey McGehee, a non-roster invitee to camp.

 

"It wasn't fun," said McGehee, the first batter to see Wood. "He looks pretty good. When he's telling you what's coming and he can buckle you on a breaking ball, he's got a pretty good one going.

 

"I've never faced him before but the ball was coming out of his hand good, and he threw a couple sliders, and he buckled me even though he told me it was coming," McGehee said. "He located the ball pretty good."

 

"He had some life, threw some real nice breaking pitches," Piniella said. "I'm sure he was probably a little nervous going out there first time out. I'm not talking about [first time] throwing batting practice but getting through the 25 pitches he threw. It was really encouraging."

 

Next step for Wood will be 35 pitches to hitters. He's a little behind the rest of the pitchers after being slowed this spring by a freak accident when he fell out of his hot tub and bruised his chest. The right-hander could see Cactus League action next weekend.